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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27224788">it is a mystery</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/heybabybird/pseuds/heybabybird'>heybabybird</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(literally a)Ghost Writer Jason Todd, Ghosts, Jason Todd is A Ghost, JayTim Spooktober 2020, M/M, Mention of Panic Attacks, Pre-Slash, Tim Drake Needs a Break, and they were roommates!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:47:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,168</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27224788</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/heybabybird/pseuds/heybabybird</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There's someone inside his house.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tim Drake/Jason Todd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>103</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>JayTimWeek</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>it is a mystery</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For the forth prompt of JayTim Spooktober 2020, Ghosts!</p><p>the title is a referance to this funky little tune!<br/>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq3abPnEEGE&amp;ab_channel=PIFTS.exe</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There's someone inside his house.</p><p>---</p><p>Tim found a laptop on his nightstand the other day. It’s about 10 years outdated and it doesn’t belong to him, but he can’t remember having anyone over lately except Kon. Kon doesn’t own a laptop. Tim primary fixes computers for a living, and he’s usually really good about keeping work stuff out of his room. </p><p>When he tried to turn it on and couldn’t he realized that the battery was probably drained, he found a compatible power cord but for some reason, it wouldn’t charge. Tim then tried multiple cables and it still wouldn’t boot up, he’s starting to feel a little exasperated at this point.</p><p>How long had this even been here?</p><p>“Huh,” he furrowed his brow, alarm bells ringing in his head. Weird things had been happening around him recently and Tim is starting to grow a little concerned. He tries to recall any significant event that happened throughout the week.</p><p>He’s been home all week, except Wednesday when his building had a power outage forcing Tim to bring his work to a nearby coffeehouse. It’s raining, the chilly weather had everyone huddled up inside, warmly dressed and sipping away at a hot drink of some sort, but it wasn’t too crowded since it had been a weekday.</p><p>It was just about that time of the year where the weather gets significantly colder. Halloween decorations have started going up the shelves, and the majority of people are preparing their costumes for that one particular spooky day. There’s also pumpkin spiced everything <em> everywhere</em>.</p><p>A costume was the least of Tim’s worries, though. His favorite spot in the establishment had been nabbed by someone talking loudly into their phone. He <em> could </em>just sit at the table next to them, but that means he had to listen to whatever they were laughing about.</p><p>Thankfully he didn’t have to wait too long for another table with an electrical outlet to be opened. Nearing the entrance, it's more noisier upfront, cold wind brushes against Tim’s cheeks every time someone enters the coffeehouse. Not the most ideal location but it’ll do.</p><p>Tim loves this place. From the checkered tiles and creamy walls to those little knick knacks the owner added to the various shelves and corners for a bit of personal touches. The smell of freshly brewed coffee lingers in the air. Along with soft jazz music and the fact it’s a walking distance from his apartment, the coffeehouse has a homey vibe that makes it one of Tim’s favourite places to camp out at aside from his living room.</p><p>Two coffee and a chocolate muffin later Tim stood up to stretch his legs. He had a good portion of his work done and he thinks he can finish it today if he’s determined enough. The electricity in his building’s probably back on but at this point Tim’s feeling too lazy to walk all the way back. He placed an order for a third coffee through his phone and leaned back with a sigh.</p><p>There’s a man standing next to the magazine rack, looking around with a laptop clutched under his arms. He had the most annoyed expression Tim had ever seen on a person. He was dressed lightly, wearing only a pair of washed out jeans, T-shirt and a worn leather jacket. Tim felt cold just looking at him.</p><p>He’s also very handsome, tall and broad with an angular jawline. And those <em> arms </em> , those <em> legs </em> , <em> yes please </em>. Tim saw him earlier when he collected his second drink, and that had been a while ago. So Tim did the logical thing of fixing his hair and hastily stacking his empty coffee cups to make room before calling out to him. It took the stranger a while to register someone talking to him, he looked surprised, and dumbly pointed at himself.</p><p>"Oops, did I spook you?" Tim went under to unplug his laptop charger and shoved it into his bag. “You need to charge? If you don’t mind a little chill, you can sit with me.”</p><p>“‘orry man, t'was just <em> surprised</em>." The stranger’s voice came out raspy and kinda awkward. He stood there for a little bit longer, looking towards the back of the room and the open seat across Tim like he’s weighing his options, before shuffling over and setting his laptop on the table. He then dug into his shoulder bag for his charger.</p><p>"Thanks. I’m Jason."</p><p>"Tim. And no problem! I don’t need it anymore.”</p><p>Jason went into Work Mode almost immediately. Tim is a bit disappointed but he can feel a sense of solidarity. Jason's clothes are dry despite it pouring outside, with no umbrella in sight Tim figured he must have waited for quite a bit. Jason keeps doing that restless feet shuffling thing like when you’re really nervous or something. There’s something about him. Tim is a bit mesmerized by how Jason’s fingers flew over the keyboard, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth.</p><p>"Mr. Drake? Is there a Mr. Drake here?” A barista called out shortly, Tim didn’t realize he had been staring at Jason the entire time.</p><p>"I'll be right back."</p><p>"Sure."</p><p>When Tim returned to their table, holding two steaming cups of beverage in his hands, Jason was nowhere to be seen. (his laptop is here*). Tim frowned, maybe he went to the washroom? But two hours later when the The barista came up to inform him they were closing soon Tim had no choice but to reluctantly leave, shoving both the laptops into his backpack.</p><p>---</p><p>He is dreaming.</p><p>Tim stepped through a glass panel door and realized he was back at the coffeehouse again. But this time there was no light jazz music playing in the background, no smell of coffee lingering in the air. Everything seemed to be frozen in place- even the man that tripped over, was frozen mid-fall, his coffee floating in mid air.</p><p>The only thing moving was someone hunched over their laptop typing away frantically at a secluded corner of the coffeehouse.</p><p>“Jason?” Tim approached the figure. It was Jason, but he seemed to be in deep concentration and didn't notice him. When Tim reached out to touch him, everything blacked out. </p><p>---</p><p>Tim woke up with static in his brain and a vague memory of talking to someone last night. He doesn't remember though, everything was a blur and actually came to think of it, Tim can't remember much of yesterday aside from where he was and why.</p><p>He rolled out of bed reluctantly, feeling a headache building up. It was a little past 9 a.m. on a Thursday, meaning Tim doesn’t have to be anywhere until noon to meet his friends for brunch. The bathroom lights were on when he entered, nothing struck him as odd although he usually kept it off. Perhaps it had something to do with his headache. He squints at his reflection in the mirror, running a hand through unruly hair.</p><p>Tim turned the tap on and grabbed the tube of facial wash from the counter — he made a mental note to pick up another tube later, it was running a little low,— and squeezed a dime-sized dollop on his hands. He routinely started washing his face, going in circular motion and careful not to get it in his eyes.</p><p>He paused, thinking he heard something clatter the room but he didn't hear it a second time. He shrugged it off as his imagination, he was still a little groggy. Then lights flickered off suddenly and Tim cussed. Goddamn it, he really needs to talk to his landlord about the random power outage he’s experiencing. Thankfully it only lasted a few seconds this time before it came back on again.</p><p>Tim turned the tap on and rinsed.</p><p>----</p><p>( <em> There’s a man standing next to the magazine rack, </em></p><p>
  <em> There’s a man standing </em>
</p><p>
  <em> There’s  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> a  </em>
</p><p>He, )</p><p>---</p><p>Tim returned to the coffeehouse a week later on a Friday. He didn’t plan on it but he found himself putting on shoes earlier that day and was out of the apartment before he even realized what’s happening. Tim went up to order a coffee and sat at the same spot he did last Wednesday.</p><p>He might as well get some work done since he’s here. He stared at the empty seat in front of him. There was a niggle at the back of his mind that he’s forgetting something.</p><p>For the past week Tim has been hearing a loud noise coming from his upstairs, loud footsteps like <em> thud thud thud </em> that goes on for about a few seconds, multiple times throughout the day. It makes him very stressed. He complained to the landlord and he looked at Tim like he’s gone crazy.</p><p>“Mr. Drake, you’re in the loft.”</p><p>---</p><p>There's someone inside his house.</p><p>When Tim woke up one morning he found a clean mug sitting in his kitchen sink and the room smelling faintly of coffee. Nothing out of the ordinary except Tim didn’t have any coffee last night and he remembered going to sleep with a sink full of dirty dishes. He lives alone.</p><p>At least, he <em> thought </em>he lives alone, but then he noticed his house plants are still growing healthy and not dead despite Tim never remembering to water them. And when Tim stared at his coffee table he couldn’t shake away the feeling that something’s amiss. It’s like someone had rearranged all his stuff and tried to put it back the way it was but everything is just an inch off. </p><p>Whoever it was kept moving stuff around. The Mysterious Laptop™ he found up a few weeks ago had migrated from his nightstand to sit perch on his kitchen counter, and then he’d go to bed and wake up only to find it again at a completely different location. Being a messy person by nature Tim thought nothing of it at first, brushing it off as his sleep deprived mind playing tricks on him and he just forgot he moved them but then they moved stuff on his bookshelf and Tim hasn’t touched that corner of the room for at least a whole <em> year </em>.</p><p>You would think one would at least try to be subtle about their home invasion from the way they had picked a cluttered place like Tim's, but instead they become an invisible housekeeper living rent free. So Tim called the police and they searched his walls, ceiling and even the vents but they found no signs of breaking in or someone else but Tim living there.</p><p>Which makes Tim a little concerned and kickstarts his hyperawareness. He didn’t feel completely safe at home anymore.</p><p>He started seeing shadows from the corner of his eyes and hearing whispers coming from the room, but Tim was unable to pin-point the source. If he closed his eyes and tried to listen carefully it almost sounded like someone’s cussing. Maybe a neighbour, or someone walking by downstairs. Tim stuck his head out the window and called- “Hello?” The whispering stopped.</p><p>Holy crap he's totally being haunted right now, that would explain <em> so </em>much.</p><p>---</p><p>Tim wasn’t even sure he believed in ghosts. His childhood home had a literal forest for it’s backyard, long shadows loomed over his window at night looking like something would jump out at any moment and he remembered thinking it was creepy at night before he just got used to it eventually.</p><p>He could get used to it all over again, no problem. No problem at all. Except Tim really doesn’t feel comfortable not knowing where or what his invisible roommate is doing right now. He calmly packed a bag, shoving all his electronics and favourite sweater, locked up his apartment and drove to a friend’s place. <em> Then </em>he panics.</p><p>“I’m seeing someone.”</p><p>“As in dating or hallucinations?” Kon asks, not very helpful.</p><p>Tim whimpered and he was this close to ripping his hair out. He’s been living there peacefully for a few years now and there was no way he could have missed someone going in and out of his apartment because Tim is proudly a hermit and works from the comfort of his living room. The only reason he even owns a car is because his mom insists he visits or she'll march down there herself.</p><p>Of course he didn’t expect to have a literal ghost invading his personal space.</p><p>"Have you tried calling the Ghostbusters?" Bart piped up from the beanbag chair, not looking up from his handheld.</p><p>“You guys think I'm crazy." Tim buried his head in his hands, and then he remembered the <em> thing </em>, “Oh my god, that laptop.”</p><p>"No we don’t." Bart says the same time Kon asks, “What laptop?”</p><p>So he somehow picked up a haunted laptop, not a big deal but by far the weirdest thing happened to him. The flickering lights, moving objects, and the loud footsteps coming from above- it all made sense, really. Tim is just a bit ashamed of himself after realizing it’s probably been at least two weeks since the first sign of haunting.</p><p>Tim explained, from the top. His friends were still skeptical but at the very least, they humoured him in his research for ways to cleanse his house. A mutual of theirs is actually pretty knowledgeable about all things otherworldly and gave him a crash course on how to banish unwanted spirits from his home. After three days of camping on Kon’s couch Tim ran out of things to tinker with.</p><p>"Are you sure you don’t want to call someone else?” Kon asked him the day Tim decided to set out on his self assigned ghostbusting mission.</p><p>“I’m sure.”</p><p>He’s not. He’s not sure but he didn’t pack enough clean underwear and there’s a pile of computers in his living room that needs fixing before his client throws a fit. Tim happily accepts the extra container of salt Bart left for him when he came by last night then went to his car.</p><p>Tim made a quick stop to gather supplies, and a ghost hunting book for good measures. No bodily harm has happened to him so far so Tim figured it’s nonviolent. If the ghost is harmless, he can probably get rid of it himself. Or maybe if he asked nicely they would leave...?</p><p>Tim gets back to his apartment and immediately starts setting up some cameras in the kitchen, living room and just outside his front door. He then grabbed everything he needed, made as little noise as possible, did a quick room sweep before locking himself in his room watching the security feed on his phone.</p><p>Around 3 a.m. there’s movement from the camera in the kitchen, one of the lights flickered on and Tim saw a shadowy figure manifested and started rearranging his spice rack. Okay, maybe he didn’t think this through properly. Tim is not actually sure what qualifications you need to get rid of ghosts. The worst thing that could happen, he would get possessed and his friends will find his dead body on his kitchen floor.</p><p>He took a deep breath,<em> It’s now or never. </em></p><p>Tim tiptoed out of his room. His apartment felt a bit chillier than it’s supposed to, and he <em> did </em>remember to pay for heating this month. Just as Tim was going to toss the salt, the figure turned to look at him. Tim’s blood run cold, he clutched the crucifix in his hands and waved it violently in the face of the apparition screaming, “Do not fuck with me, I have the power of God and anime on my side!”</p><p>“Stop-”</p><p>“THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!”</p><p>“Stop that!”</p><p>Nothing happened. The crucifix is useless. He is <em> so </em>getting a refund for it. Tim nearly pissed himself when the ghost slapped the crucifix out of his hand. He tossed the entire container of salt at it but it passed through the ghost and fell lamely to the floor.</p><p>It’s too much. Tim felt his feet begin to stumble, then his knees give in and he’s hyperventilating on the floor. Then the ghost leans even closer, faceless and vaguely human shaped. So close that Tim could almost make out it’s ghostly features. And then there is. A hand. Stroking his back. And it’s <em> really really cold</em>.</p><p>“That’s it, take a deep breath.”</p><p>The entire situation is so bizarre, Tim is pretty sure he should be dead by now. He had never met a ghost before but this one is apparently trying to calm him down and telling him: “Do not be afraid” Archangel style. Tim wheezed, counting his fingers to ground himself. The presence on his back disappeared, he scrambled back until he hit the cabinets. Some bottles rattled above him and if it weren’t for the fact that he noticed the retreating hand was becoming more solidified Tim would be having a full blown panic attack right now.</p><p>Now that Tim is getting a clearer look, there’s something eerily familiar about the broad shoulders and angular jawline. Tim’s eyes travel upwards to meet unamused blue-green eyes and he tries really hard to remember where he’d seen this face before. And then, it clicked. "Oh my god. you're that guy!"</p><p>It was like a mental barrier had been removed and Tim’s getting a detailed replay of their initial meeting. Jason. There was a man, waiting for an open seat. His name is Jason, Tim remembered inviting him to join him at his table. He remembered ordering another coffee for him and coming back to an empty seat. Apparently he was so tired that he started seeing ghosts. Jason took a step back and held out a hand for Tim. He was scared out of his mind but hesitantly took it anyway, shivering at the cold touch.</p><p>“Sorry for scaring ‘ya.”</p><p>Tim took a gasping breath, pointing a finger accusingly at the solidifying man. "Why are you haunting me?"</p><p>"Haunti- I'm not haunting you. You took off with my stuff!”</p><p>"You left! I can’t just leave your valuables there, they were closing."</p><p>"Look, Jim-"</p><p>"Tim."</p><p>"I don’t know how you were able to see me in the first place but you took off with my stuff and my spirit is attached to it."</p><p>“Are you saying it’s <em> my </em>fault that you’re here?”</p><p>“Yeah, pretty much.” Jason shrugged. “Also your apartment's a piece of crap."</p><p>“You’re still here.”</p><p>“I’ll leave. Just let me keep using your internet.”</p><p>Jason starts saying something about a manuscript and a deadline but Tim Isn't catching any of it. He couldn’t help but stare at the way Jason’s form just sort of flickered between solid and translucent, baffled. Tim eventually found his voice again, realizing that Jason was expecting some sort of reply. He licked his lips, throat dry, and sort of just nodded.</p><p>“I- Okay.”</p><p>---</p><p>There's someone inside his house.</p><p>If Tim notices anything out of place he pretends not to. At least they were polite and did his dishes.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>alternatively: Jason is a ghost writer(hehe) behind deadline and Tim's wifi password is something dumb like 5318008</p><p>omg i fussed over the pacing of the story so much, if you noticed the different writing style changed in between it's because i started writing this last Halloween and it took me a whole year to finish this story dskfjskdf this is a bit different and longer from what I usually write but I hope you will enjoy it!!</p><p>please let me know what do you think!<br/>(and please feel free to point out any mistakes dksfjsdf)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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